View Full Version : Skype VOIP
Hi,
I don't know if anyone uses voice over internet protocol (VOIP), but just thought I would let you all know we have been testing Skype this morning (www.skype.com) as we have four business locations and are slowly getting broadband to them all.
We were very impressed at the quality of the calls and that was with one location being broadband and the other ISDN dial-up, so it may be worth a look if you think it would help you cut telephone call costs.
Cheers,
MTP
We have dabbled with it here at work
jolliffee
22-09-2004, 18:05
I have VIOP at home connecting to my Sons house. We hope to maybe run it through to the Villa and another place. We use Draytek routers & the quality is very good. Whe are waiting for the router that will also connect to the private exchage in their house then we can use VIOP to that and get to anywhere from the locations we have set up....
CarolAnn
22-09-2004, 18:19
My husband would love to cut my telephone calls( I think that is what he said?) LOl:)Sounds interesting :)
Calamity Jane
22-09-2004, 20:37
Carol.. your husband probably said cut your vocal chords not telephone calls, thats what mine says.:D:D:D
Do any of you more experienced VOIP users use a USB phone handset? We were thinking that these would make it much more user friendly and also the phone would be used in a public area so it would not be possible to have the phone call over the PC speakers. The cost for four hadsets would be at best £140 so it is an initial investment to then hopefully recoup that in reduced phone costs.
Okay it's time for the dumb one.....
What exactly are you all talking about? Would it be poss to breakdown into idiot language please.
It sounds very interesting but I can't quite work out what it is.
Karen
Hi Karen,
Sorry for jumping in at the deepish end with this topic, what I am talking about is making phonecalls using your internet connection. VOIP - Voice Over Internet Protocol - it effectively means you can make a phone call over the computer. If the recipient has similar software to yourself and both are already paying for an internet connection then this may mean that your phone call is effectively free of charge (eg both users have broadband and Microsoft Messnger or Skype (or others)). This will use up some of the bandwidth of your connection, so if you are on a limited data package you may run in to problems.
I have previously played with Microsoft Messenger, but not with very good experiences - allbeit it was over 56Kbps dial-up at either end.
Skype seemed to work very well today, even in direct comparison to Messenger. In my scenario this would mean that with four branches all with broadband, these branches would be able to make inter-branch phone calls free of charge - we already pay for the internet connection. The downside is that the technology is still in its infancy and it probably won't stay free forever. With Skype you can also make Skype to standard telephone phone calls for a charge, which may make a huge saving on global call charges.
It seems current predictions are suggesting that in the future telecommunications will be based on internet networks, but obviously the likes of BT do not want to loose their strong position in the market at the moment. The other problem is that it may not be very natural for our staff to use the computer to make a phone call, so we are looking at getting a USB handset that looks and feels like a slimline phone that they use for making the calls.
We use messenger for voice calls to our friends in Orlando and family in Canada etc
Robert5988
23-09-2004, 13:10
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Do any of you more experienced VOIP users use a USB phone handset? We were thinking that these would make it much more user friendly and also the phone would be used in a public area so it would not be possible to have the phone call over the PC speakers. The cost for four hadsets would be at best £140 so it is an initial investment to then hopefully recoup that in reduced phone costs.[/quote]
I have tried it together with a web cam to the USA and as an experiment within UK.
With(regular) phone calls to USA so cheap now I decided it wasn't worth the bother. Unless both parties are sitting at their PCs you have to make an appointment to talk to each other.
I believe it will have a future for firms with high phone useage or if you talk regularly to a country where telephone call costs are high.
The ability of Skype to call standard telephone numbers will be useful when it is sorted - I believe it is 'hit and miss' at the moment.
There are a number of similar systems being developed and it remains to be seen which,if any, becomes the global standard. Skype are giving their software out free at the moment to try to establish a dominance in the market.
jolliffee
23-09-2004, 21:09
I travel on business quite a lot and use VIOP with my cellphone, I also use it on holiday; I get a a local call rate by connecting using a service from 1Cellnet. Once the call is requested from the cellphone (local call) it then dials the other end and me and we have a call made over the internet using VIOP at no additional charge. Can be done from a computer to phone too, almost anywhere in the world.
The only down side (if this is one) I have to pre pay for the calls but via the internet so I just keep about £25 up there so its no problem.
You can now upgrade to "Skype In" & "Skype Out".
In People can dial a number set up in whichever country you wish and get you on your PC. I believe you can also use call-forward to your mobile or wherever.
Out You can call any number in the world from you PC.
I have been speaking to the USA, Cyprus,Scotland and England on Skype without any issues.
We use Skype ayt home, and at work, and have seen at least a 25% reduction in phone bills.
We also use the conference call facility for our HOA meetings, where we can all talk as if in the same room even though we are spread all over the UK and the US and its all free.
Even my kids use it instead of MSN, as they prefer to chat rather than type.
We use Skype in our villa and occasionally at home. We have a handset and the sound quality is excellent. I am currently staying in our villa and have used it on a daily basis to keep in contact with friends and family at home. Obviously it is free to call other Skype phones but it is also very, very cheap to call any standard landline. My 10 year old daughter has used it for long chats with her friend at home and the cost is very minimal.
Karen
orlandodaze
03-03-2006, 03:10
So now I can save money on my phone bills and put it towards the Florida fund ,great idea .
Ken and Julia
06-04-2006, 04:59
I use Skype with Video just using a webcam with built in mic, works a treat as long as both partys are on broadband.
Same here - we have Skpype both at home and in the villa and it works brilliantly :D
SunLover
06-04-2006, 18:51
Likewise... it saves a fortune :)
farawayfan
06-04-2006, 21:55
We also have Skype in and find it invaluable.
We live in Israel but all our family live in the UK. Firstly through the computer we can all talk for free but more importantly I run a business here with clients in the UK and the US. I bought a UK and US Skype number for EUR30 each and it means my customers can call me for the price of local call.
Jackie
I have used Skype at home, and the villa I am in at the moment in Las Vegas, has installed it and so before I came I put some money on my account and have used it to call my Mum who does not havea computer and the cost has been excellent, I talked for 30 mins for about 80p which I won't tell you how much 2 3min calls from the Luxor cost!!!! boy was I cross that they can charge so much!
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by ravtino
I have used Skype at home, and the villa I am in at the moment in Las Vegas, has installed it and so before I came I put some money on my account and have used it to call my Mum who does not havea computer and the cost has been excellent, I talked for 30 mins for about 80p which I won't tell you how much 2 3min calls from the Luxor cost!!!! boy was I cross that they can charge so much!
[/quote]
We have SkypeIn numbers so callers from the US can dial a (352) number and be put through to me in the UK for the cost of a local call.
Excelletn product.